Athletic Festival Arc
20 Origin and Devilishness

When Fuuga"s dance performance began, the cameras" shutter sounds rang out with a vigor at the same level as those for Hayate previously, or even a little more.

"Amazing…"

Meru raised her voice in wonder. It wasn"t at the fierceness of the shutter sounds, but rather at the grace of Fuuga"s dance performance.

"If you say that, Fuu-chan would be completely satisfied. He really practiced that routine."

Meru and Laila were gazing at Fuuga"s cheer routine1 from the newly demarcated area since it had started with perfect timing.

Extending his long limbs smoothly, his beautiful eyes which could be seen through the gaps in his disordered hair held those he looked at captive.

She had read about the beauty of Hikaru Genji"s2 dance in the cla.s.sic before, but the scene right now was so beautiful that she felt it resembled that.

The serious-faced Fuuga even seemed to Meru like someone she didn"t know.

"Somehow, it feels like Rengetsu-kun is far away."

When Meru muttered that, Laila unintentionally chuckled.

"If you tell that to Fuu-chan, he"ll be delighted, you know?"

When she looked at Laila smiling at her, Meru felt her heart slightly skip a beat. She was talking to Laila at the same short distance as usual. Normally, because of his appearance, she didn"t care about it, but the Laila now was a boy no matter how she looked at him, so she got a little nervous after all.

"Ah, could it be, Ruu-chan. Are you conscious of me?"

Laila grinned broadly with an evil smile floating on his face. Meru felt embarra.s.sed and turned away.

"Eh, Ruu-cha…"
"Meru!"

At the moment Laila examined Meru"s expression, a voice called out for Meru from behind Laila.
Meru looked past Laila at that person and her eyes narrowed.

"Dad…"
"Eh?"

When Meru said that with a sigh mixed in, Laila also responded and turned around. When he did, there was a man with a seemingly good nature and a woman with a sweet aura standing there.

"Could they possibly be your parents, Ruu-chan?"

When Laila asked, Meru nodded.

"Dad, Mom. No one other than students and teachers is allowed here. Even though I went through so much trouble to draw these lines, there was no point, huh."

When Meru spoke with a helpless face, Shigeharu said, "Sorry, sorry," and guffawed.

"Meru-chan. Who is the handsome young man next to you?"3

Mariko ran up to Meru and asked with her eyes sparkling. She had a youthful appearance, but she was a follower of Korean dramas which was the current fad of her age group and the catchphrase was "Good-looking guys are national treasures."

"Student council executive Hiiragi Lailkun."

When Meru gestured to Laila with one hand, he bobbed his head to Shigeharu and Mariko.

"It"s nice to meet you. I"m always in Meru-san"s care."

At Laila"s polite greeting,Mariko"s eyes formed into hearts and Shigeharu said, "It"s a good thing Kei isn"t here," while smiling wryly.

"By the way, a boy who seems like Mom"s type… Look, he"s performing. Here is a no-go, so if you hurry over there…?"
"Ah, it"s true. Let"s hurry over and look!"

Mariko"s eyes shone even more and she skipped in the direction Meru had pointed.

"Dad. If you don"t hurry up, you"ll lose sight of her."
"When Mariko is that excited, I"ll find her even if I don"t try."
"True."

Shigeharu then confirmed the events Meru would take part in once more and chatted with Laila a little bit.

"Then, Meru. Good luck with your work. Hiiragi-kun, I"m entrusting Meru to you."

Laila bowed his head once more and Meru fluttered her hand. Shigeharu disappeared into the crowd.

"Specially coming to see you, they"re kind parents."
"This year is the first time, though. What about you, Lailchan?"

When Meru asked that question in return, Laila made a slightly embarra.s.sed face.

"They came last year, but… Since I look like this, they probably won"t come this year. They might come if I had my wig on, though."
"…?"

Meru tilted her head, but Laila just grinned in response. Meru picked up a slightly uncomfortable feeling, but since not one thing was different about Laila"s behavior, she forced that feeling to the corner of her mind.

"At any rate, Ruu-chan, your parents really love you. It was really obvious."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Looking at you and your parents, I can tell that you grew up in a happy household."

When Laila said that, Meru"s eyes widened and she pulled Laila"s arm. Meru"s close eyes were sparkling.

"Is that true?"
"Yeah…?"
"Yay!"

Meru released Laila"s arm and faced forward, smiling. Laila didn"t really understand what had happened, but looking at Meru"s happy face, he felt happy, too.

"Ruu-chan, you"re devilish in a way."
"Eh?"

When Meru turned her gaze to Laila, a voice called out behind her.

"Ah, there you are. Meru!"

When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Maiko running over.

"Maiko-chan. What"s up?"
"The 100 meter gathering started!"

When Maiko said that,Meru looked toward the clock in the distance. While thinking she had stayed here longer than she had guessed, Meru returned her gaze to Laila.

"That being the case, see you later."
"Yeah. I"m cheering for you."

Meru left Laila and ran up to Maiko, then walked toward the organizing area.

Maiko glanced over her shoulder and whispered to Meru.

"Meru. Who is that person? He"s in our year? That guy. He has a face that doesn"t seem like you"d forget it after you"ve seen it once, but…"

Meru recalled what Laila had said earlier. It really seemed like he wasn"t recognizable, so Meru was a little surprised.

"That"s Lailchan, male version."
"Eh!? That"s Hiiragi Laila?"

When Maiko looked behind her, Meru did the same.

"He looks good as a guy, too, huh."
"Right?"

Laila was already being surrounded by numerous girls. He was always only being surrounded by boys, so it was a fresh new sight, but Laila wasn"t making a particularly happy face.

"That cold face is completely different from the one just a bit ago."
"Huh?"

When Meru grabbed her own face, Maiko denied her with a little bit of astonishment, saying, "Not you."

"I"m saying that Hiiragi Laila is also truly a man."
"…?"

It seemed like Meru understood Maiko"s words, but she didn"t understand.

1 This isn"t a cheerleading performance like you"d think of in the West. Basically, the parties involved exchange a cheer routine before the rest of the events start. Even though it"s not usually included in the points the team receives (since it"s largely a subjective judgment in regard to who wins as opposed to the events themselves which have clear-cut winners), it"s kind of like the first "battle" of these events. Basically, it"s a j.a.panese cheer routine which can take several forms and I can"t English so this is what we have. If you"re curious, here"s a video that shows sections of several different teams doing their thing: Hikaru Genji is the protag of The Tale of Genji. It"s a really famous cla.s.sic in j.a.panese literature. Basically, he was really handsome and talented at like everything and hooked up with a lot of women, some of whom he shouldn"t have hooked up with, resulting in lots of problems and etc. Originally, he was a prince, but was demoted to a commoner at a young age for safety from the plots of court. Anyway, I haven"t read it myself, but I"m guessing that since he was so good at everything, his dance was extraordinary as well.

3 Also could be pretty boy (bishounen), but given how politely Meru"s mother is speaking here…it didn"t really fit. Even though it kind of fits her next actions.

Meru is too precious for this world. That is all.